תִּכַּנְתָּ שַׁבָּת רָצִֽיתָ קָרְבְּנוֹתֶֽיהָ צִוִּֽיתָ
פּרוּשֶֽׁיהָ עִם סִדּוּרֵי נְסָכֶֽיהָ מְעַנְּגֶֽיהָ לְעוֹלָם כָּבוֹד יִנְחָֽלוּ טוֹעֲמֶֽיהָ חַיִּים זָכוּ וְגַם
הָאוֹהֲבִים דְּבָרֶֽיהָ גְּדֻלָּה בָּחָֽרוּ אָזמִסִּינַי נִצְטַוּוּ עָלֶֽיהָ וַתְּצַוֵּֽנוּ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ לְהַקְרִיב בָּהּ קָרְבַּן מוּסַף שַׁבָּת כָּרָאוּי:
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶֽיךָ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ וֵֽאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ שֶׁתַּעֲלֵֽנוּ בְשִׂמְחָה לְאַרְצֵֽנוּ וְתִטָּעֵֽנוּ בִּגְבוּלֵֽנוּ וְשָׁם נַעֲשֶׂה לְפָנֶֽיךָ אֶת־קָרְבְּנוֹת חוֹבוֹתֵֽינוּ תְּמִידִים כְּסִדְרָם וּמוּסָפִים כְּהִלְכָתָם:
וְאֶת־מוּסַף יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת הַזֶּה נַעֲשֶׂה וְנַקְרִיב לְפָנֶֽיךָ בְּאַהֲבָה כְּמִצְוַת רְצוֹנֶֽךָ כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתַֽבְתָּ עָלֵֽינוּ בְּתוֹרָתְךָ עַל־יְדֵי מֹשֶׁה עַבְדְּךָ מִפִּי כְבוֹדֶֽךָ כָּאָמוּר:
במדבר כח: ט-י
וּבְיוֹם֙ הַשַּׁבָּ֔ת שְׁנֵֽי־כְבָשִׂ֥ים בְּנֵֽי־שָׁנָ֖ה תְּמִימִ֑ם וּשְׁנֵ֣י עֶשְׂרֹנִ֗ים סֹ֧לֶת מִנְחָ֛ה בְּלוּלָ֥ה בַשֶּׁ֖מֶן וְנִסְכּֽוֹ: עֹלַ֥ת שַׁבַּ֖ת בְּשַׁבַּתּ֑וֹ עַל־עֹלַ֥ת הַתָּמִ֖יד וְנִסְכָּֽהּ:
Shabbat Musaf (additional) Amidah
You instituted the Sabbath, You favored its offerings. You commanded its specific laws along with the order of its libations. Those who delight in it inherit eternal glory, whose who relish it merit life, and those who love its teachings have chosen greatness. Even before Sinai they were commanded about it. Then You, Lord our God, commanded us to offer on it the additional offering of the Sabbath in the proper way.
May it be Your will, Eternal our God and God of our ancestors, to lead us back in joy to our land and to plant us within our borders. There we will prepare for You our obligatory offerings: the regular daily offerings in their order, and the additional offerings according to their laws.
And the additional offerings of this Sabbath day we will prepare and offer before You in love, in accord with Your will's commandment, as You wrote for us in Your Torah through Your servant Moses, by Your own word, as it is said:
Numbers 28:9-10
On the Sabbath day, make an offering of two lambs a year old, without blemish, together with two-tenths of an ephor of fine flour mixed with oil as a meal-offering, and its appropriate libation. This is the burnt-offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular daily burnt-offering and its libation.
(יד) וְאִ֧ם מִן־הָע֛וֹף עֹלָ֥ה קׇרְבָּנ֖וֹ לַֽיהֹוָ֑ה וְהִקְרִ֣יב מִן־הַתֹּרִ֗ים א֛וֹ מִן־בְּנֵ֥י הַיּוֹנָ֖ה אֶת־קׇרְבָּנֽוֹ׃ (טו) וְהִקְרִיב֤וֹ הַכֹּהֵן֙ אֶל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ וּמָלַק֙ אֶת־רֹאשׁ֔וֹ וְהִקְטִ֖יר הַמִּזְבֵּ֑חָה וְנִמְצָ֣ה דָמ֔וֹ עַ֖ל קִ֥יר הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ׃ (טז) וְהֵסִ֥יר אֶת־מֻרְאָת֖וֹ בְּנֹצָתָ֑הּ וְהִשְׁלִ֨יךְ אֹתָ֜הּ אֵ֤צֶל הַמִּזְבֵּ֙חַ֙ קֵ֔דְמָה אֶל־מְק֖וֹם הַדָּֽשֶׁן׃ (יז) וְשִׁסַּ֨ע אֹת֣וֹ בִכְנָפָיו֮ לֹ֣א יַבְדִּיל֒ וְהִקְטִ֨יר אֹת֤וֹ הַכֹּהֵן֙ הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חָה עַל־הָעֵצִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר עַל־הָאֵ֑שׁ עֹלָ֣ה ה֗וּא אִשֵּׁ֛ה רֵ֥יחַ נִיחֹ֖חַ לַיהֹוָֽה׃ {ס}
(1) The Eternal called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying: (2) Speak to the Israelite people, and say to them:
When any of you presents an offering of cattle to the Eternal, they shall choose their offering from the herd or from the flock. (3) If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, they shall make the offering a male without blemish. They shall bring it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, for acceptance on their behalf before the Eternal. (4) They shall lay their hand upon the head of the burnt offering, that it may be acceptable on their behalf, in expiation for them. (5) The bull shall be slaughtered before the Eternal; and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall offer the blood, dashing the blood against all sides of the altar which is at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. (6) The burnt offering shall be flayed and cut up into sections. (7) The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and lay out wood upon the fire; (8) and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall lay out the sections, with the head and the suet, on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar. (9) Its entrails and legs shall be washed with water, and the priest shall turn the whole into smoke on the altar as a burnt offering, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the Eternal.
(10) If their offering for a burnt offering is from the flock, of sheep or of goats, they shall make the offering a male without blemish. (11) It shall be slaughtered before the Eternal on the north side of the altar, and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall dash its blood against all sides of the altar. (12) When it has been cut up into sections, the priest shall lay them out, with the head and the suet, on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar. (13) The entrails and the legs shall be washed with water; the priest shall offer up and turn the whole into smoke on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering by fire, of pleasing odor to the Eternal.
(14) If their offering to the Eternal is a burnt offering of birds, they shall choose the offering from turtledoves or pigeons. (15) The priest shall bring it to the altar, pinch off its head, and turn it into smoke on the altar; and its blood shall be drained out against the side of the altar. (16) He shall remove its crop with its contents, and cast it into the place of the ashes, at the east side of the altar. (17) The priest shall tear it open by its wings, without severing it, and turn it into smoke on the altar, upon the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, an offering by fire, of pleasing odor to the Eternal.
(1) When a person presents an offering of meal to the Eternal, their offering shall be of choice flour; they shall pour oil upon it, lay frankincense on it, (2) and present it to Aaron’s sons, the priests. The priest shall scoop out of it a handful of its choice flour and oil, as well as all of its frankincense; and this token portion they shall turn into smoke on the altar, as an offering by fire, of pleasing odor to the Eternal.
(1) The Eternal spoke to Moses, saying: (2) Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelite people and say to them: This is what the Eternal has commanded: (3) if anyone of the house of Israel slaughters an ox or sheep or goat in the camp, or does so outside the camp, (4) and does not bring it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the Eternal, before the Eternal's Tabernacle, bloodguilt shall be imputed to that person: they have shed blood; that person shall be cut off from among their people.
(8) You shall not act at all as we now act here, every person as they please, (9) because you have not yet come to the allotted haven that the Eternal your God is giving you. (10) When you cross the Jordan and settle in the land that the Eternal your God is allotting to you, and God grants you safety from all your enemies around you and you live in security, (11) then you must bring everything that I command you to the site where the Eternal your God will choose to establish the Divine name: your burnt offerings and other sacrifices, your tithes and contributions, and all the choice votive offerings that you vow to the Eternal. (12) And you shall rejoice before the Eternal your God with your sons and daughters and with your male and female slaves, along with the Levite in your settlements, for they have no territorial allotment among you. (13) Take care not to sacrifice your burnt offerings in any place you like, (14) but only in the place that the Eternal will choose in one of your tribal territories. There you shall sacrifice your burnt offerings and there you shall observe all that I enjoin upon you.
Contrary to popular belief, the purpose of korbanot is not simply to obtain forgiveness from sin. Although many korbanot have the effect of expiating sins, there are many other purposes for bringing then and the expiatory effect is often incidental, and is subject to significant limitations.
The purposes of korbanot are much the same as the purposes of prayer: we bring qorbanot to praise God to become closer to God, to express thanks to God, love or gratitude. We bring them to celebrate holidays and festivals. Others are used to cleanse a person of ritual impurity (which does not necessarily have anything to do with sin: childbirth causes such impurity, but is certainly not a sin). And yes, many korbanot, like many prayers, are brought for purposes of atonement.
The atoning aspect of korbanot is limited. For the most part, korbanot only expiate unintentional sins, that is, sins committed because a person forgot that this thing was a sin. No atonement is needed for violations committed under duress or through lack of knowledge, and for the most part, korbanot cannot atone for a malicious, deliberate sin. In addition, they have no expiating effect unless the person making the offering sincerely repents his or her actions before making the offering, and makes restitution to any person who was harmed by the violation.
Major Types of Korbanot
Olah: Burnt Offering
Perhaps the best-known class of offerings is the burnt offering. It was the oldest and commonest sacrifice, and represented submission to God's will. The Hebrew word for burnt offering is olah meaning ascension. An olah is completely burnt on the outer altar; no part of it is eaten by anyone. Because the offering represents complete submission to God's will, the entire offering is given to God (i.e., it cannot be used after it is burnt). It expresses a desire to commune with God, and expiates sins incidentally in the process (because how can you commune with God if you are tainted with sins?). An olah could be made from cattle, sheep, goats, or even birds, depending on the offerer's means.
Zevach Sh'lamim: Peace Offering
A peace offering is an offering expressing thanks or gratitude to God.. The Hebrew term for this type of offering is zevach sh'lamim (or sometimes just sh'lamim), which is related to the word shalom, meaning "peace" or "whole." A representative portion of the offering is burnt on the altar, a portion is given to the kohanim, and the rest is eaten by the offerer and his family; thus, everyone gets a part of this offering. This category of offerings includes thanksgiving-offerings, free will-offerings, and offerings made after fulfillment of a vow. Note that this class of offerings has nothing to do with sin; in fact, the Talmud states that in the age of the messiah (when there is no more sin), this will be the only class of offering that is brought to the Temple.
Chatat: Sin Offering
A sin offering is an offering to atone for and purge a sin. It is an expression of sorrow for the error and a desire to be reconciled with God. The Hebrew term for this type of offering is chatat, from the word chayt, meaning "missing the mark." A chatat could only be offered for unintentional sins committed through carelessness, not for intentional, malicious sins. The size of the offering varied according to the nature of the sin and the financial means of the sinner. Some chatatot are individual and some are communal. Communal offerings represent the interdependence of the community, and the fact that we are all responsible for each others' sins. A few special chatatot could not be eaten, but for the most part, for the average person's personal sin, the chatat was eaten by the kohanim.
Asham: Guilt Offering
A guilt offering is an offering to atone for sins of stealing things from the altar, for when you are not sure whether you have committed a sin or what sin you have committed, or for breach of trust. The Hebrew word for a guilt offering is asham. When there was doubt as to whether a person committed a sin, the person would make an asham, rather than a chatat, because bringing a chatat would constitute admission of the sin, and the person would have to be punished for it. If a person brought an asham and later discovered that he had in fact committed the sin, he would have to bring a chatat at that time. An asham was eaten by the kohanim.
Food and Drink Offerings
A meal offering (minchah) represented the devotion of the fruits of our work to God, because it was not a natural product, but something created through human effort. A representative piece of the offering was burnt on the fire of the altar, but the rest was eaten by the kohanim.
There are also offerings of undiluted wine, referred to as nesekh
(taken from Judaism 101 jewfaq.org)
(11) “What need have I of all your sacrifices?”
Says the Eternal.
“I am sated with burnt offerings of rams,
And suet of fatlings,
And blood of bulls;
And I have no delight
In lambs and he-goats. (12) That you come to appear before Me—
Who asked that of you?
Trample My courts (13) no more;
Bringing oblations is futile,
Incense is offensive to Me.
New moon and sabbath,
Proclaiming of solemnities,
Assemblies with iniquity,
I cannot abide. (14) Your new moons and fixed seasons
Fill Me with loathing;
They are become a burden to Me,
I cannot endure them. (15) And when you lift up your hands,
I will turn My eyes away from you;
Though you pray at length,
I will not listen.
Your hands are stained with crime— (16) Wash yourselves clean;
Put your evil doings
Away from My sight.
Cease to do evil; (17) Learn to do good.
Devote yourselves to justice;
Aid the wronged.
Uphold the rights of the orphan;
Defend the cause of the widow.
(ג) קְח֤וּ עִמָּכֶם֙ דְּבָרִ֔ים וְשׁ֖וּבוּ אֶל־יְהֹוָ֑ה אִמְר֣וּ אֵלָ֗יו כׇּל־תִּשָּׂ֤א עָוֺן֙ וְקַח־ט֔וֹב וּֽנְשַׁלְּמָ֥ה פָרִ֖ים שְׂפָתֵֽינוּ׃
(3) Take words with you
And return to the Eternal.
Say to God:
“Forgive all guilt
And accept what is good;
Instead of bulls we will pay
[The offering of] our lips.
It was stated: Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: The thrice daily prayers were instituted by the Patriarchs. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said that the prayers were instituted based on the daily offerings.
(הושע יד, ג): כָּל תִּשָֹּׂא עָוֹן וְקַח טוֹב וּנְשַׁלְמָה פָרִים שְׂפָתֵינוּ. אָמְרוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם בִּזְּמַן שֶׁבֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ קַיָּם הָיִינוּ מַקְרִיבִים קָרְבָּן וּמִתְכַּפֵּר, וְעַכְשָׁו אֵין בְּיָדֵנוּ אֶלָּא תְּפִלָּה
"Forgive all guilt and take the good that we pay with the words of our lips" (Hosea 14:3). Israel said, "Master of the world, at the time that the Temple existed, we would offer a sacrifice and be cleansed. But now all we have in our hand is prayer."
אמר אברהם רבש"ע שמא ישראל חוטאין לפניך אתה עושה להם כדור המבול וכדור הפלגה א"ל לאו אמר לפניו רבש"ע הודיעני במה אירשנה א"ל (בראשית טו, ט) קחה לי עגלה משולשת ועז משולשת וגו' אמר לפניו רבש"ע תינח בזמן שבית המקדש קיים בזמן שאין בית המקדש קיים מה תהא עליהם אמר לו כבר תקנתי להם סדר קרבנות בזמן שקוראין בהן לפני מעלה אני עליהם כאילו הקריבום לפני ואני מוחל להם על כל עונותיהם
Abraham said: Master of the Universe, perhaps the Jews will sin before You. Will You treat them as You did the generation of the flood and the generation of the dispersion, and destroy them? God said to him: No. Abraham said before God: Master of the Universe, tell me, with what shall I inherit it? How can my descendants ensure that You will maintain the world? God said to Abraham: “Take for Me a three-year-old heifer, and a three-year-old goat, and a three-year-old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon” (Genesis 15:9). God was alluding to the offerings, in whose merit the Jewish people, and through them the entire world, will be spared divine punishment. Abraham said before God: Master of the Universe, this works out well when the Temple is standing, but when the Temple is not standing, what will become of them? God said to him: I have already enacted for them the order of offerings. When they read them before Me, I will ascribe them credit as though they had sacrificed them before Me and I will pardon them for all their transgressions. Since the offerings ensure the continued existence of the Jewish people and the rest of the world, the act of Creation is read in their honor.
In his famous book Guide for the Perplexed, Moses Maimonides argues that sacrifices were an early form of worship given to the Jewish people so that they could learn how to serve God without feeling different from all other peoples surrounding them. Slowly, Maimonides says, the people learned that “the sacrificial service is not the primary objective of the commandments but that prayer is a better means of obtaining nearness to God.” Agreeing with the early Rabbis, Maimonides emphasizes that the superiority of prayer is that “it can be offered everywhere and by every person.” (A Torah Commentary for Our Times, UAHC Press, 1990, p. 100)
As we conclude our study of Parshat Vayikra, we need to know what our present-day korbanot should consist of. Certainly all forms of tzedakah and the following of mitzvot (commandments) are essential. Studying Torah and attending prayer services also move us to the closer connection with God that we so desire.
Whether we have sinned or not, whether we have done so intentionally or unintentionally, we still have the desire to move closer to God, to offer our own korbanot. To do so, we must put forth the effort to show kindness, compassion, generosity, and goodwill even if that is not easy. At the same time, we must put forth the effort to study Torah and attend worship services. As Pirkei Avot states, Mitzvah goreret mitzvah: The more good we do, the more good we do. This is really a model for life. Sacrifices are alive and well: They just have to be slightly redefined.
Provided by the Union of Reform Judaism, the central body of Reform Judaism in North America.
For Judaism to be able to assist us in living, it must reflect all life. Judaism must be the haven in which we can safely channel and express the entire range of human impulses and drives, confront our own subconscious, relive our own past, face and share our deepest anxieties. If it cannot be at least this, then it is nothing.
Sacrifice horrifies and stuns precisely because it embodies so many subconscious drives and terrors. We need not reinstitute sacrifice to be able to benefit from recalling this ancient practice in the safe context of a worship service. Are you afraid of death? Confront it by reading about sacrifice. Are you ridden with guilt? Represent and conquer your guilt in the Yom Kippur ritual of the scapegoat and sacrifice.
Our ancestors turned to animal sacrifice because they saw in it a way to express deep rage, feelings of inadequacy and guilt. They could use the rite of sacrifice as a means of facing their terror of death and the unknown. They could, through sacrifice of animals, see their own frailty, their own mortality, and their own bloodiness.
In our age, a period of sanitized religion and everyday violence, escalating drug abuse and rising poverty, the practice of our ancestors has something yet to teach. And so we read Sefer Vayikra, and learn to see our fears in the eyes of an animal going to the slaughter, in the cries of the victims of sacrifice.
Provided by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, which ordains Conservative rabbis at the American Jewish University.
The lesson to be learned from the salt of the sacrifices is twofold. The first is that a sustainable religious life can seem uncreative, uninspired, even impoverished. There are rules and expectations that are not about you and what you are feeling, but rather about what needs to be done to keep the world functioning, to keep the mishkan in operation. There is an element of Divine service that is about being obedient, and more so, about being reliable. This reliability is also critical to building a relationship with God. Deep relationships are built on a foundation of trust, regular communication and regular contact. Eating dinner with your family every night is not supposed to be exciting, it’s supposed to be grounding. When you ask your spouse the same set of questions at the end of the day, that is a foundational ritual. Being dependable isn’t always interesting and it isn’t always fun, but it is also indispensable.
At the same time, moments of transcendence are necessary to maintain the relationship and investment in it, even if the moments of transcendence are not what build and constitute a relationship. A meal that is only salt is not a meal. Salt preserves, but it doesn’t nourish.